A coalition of health and community advocates met Wednesday in Phoenix to object the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back fuel efficiency standards.

They argued the move would make the Valley’s air dirtier than it already is.

“The car companies begin to lose progress when it comes to more and more fuel efficient cars in their fleets and the other part of that is we won’t be able to take advantage of cleaning up our air if the fuel efficiency standards had stayed in place,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. 

The current standard calls for automakers to produce vehicles that get an average to 50 miles per gallon by 2025.  The Trump administration has proposed stopping in 2021 at 39 miles per gallon.